It’s sport’s final frontier: man versus machine in a battle for supremacy, and Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund and Hoffenheim are at the forefront of the futuristic fight.
With the game’s technology-based training methods advancing at an especially rapid rate, clubs and coaches are always on the lookout for new ways to gain an edge over their opponents. And one of the developments in the race to maximise player sharpness is the 'Footbonaut'.
Hoffenheim's Kerem Demirbay (right) likes to hone his silky skills inside the Footbonaut. © imago / Ed Gar
There are no teammates alongside you, no coach shouting instructions, you enter the Footbonaut realm alone, facing a battle against a shrewd machine. You will be tested on reaction, vision, precision and skill, and it all comes in the form of controlling the ball and making the right pass.
Footbonaut was the brainchild of Christian Güttler, who put his plans for the device together in Berlin. Within a robotic cage encompassing just 14 metres, footballs shoot out from different angles and at different speeds. A ball can drop from above or fly out at ground level. Each player must control and pass the ball to a highlighted square. In total, there are 72 lighted panels. A red colour signals that a ball is about to arrive, while green represents where the player must pass it to.
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